Research Article
Contrast Analysis And Subtitles In The English Translation Of The Movie “Coco”
(Research On Translation Techniques And Translation Quality)
Reni Wulandari ¹,
Language Faculty and Indraprasta PGRI University
e-mail: reniwulansutrisno49@gmail.com¹
Abstract: The objective of the study is to identify the types of translation techniques, evaluate the translation quality and understand the influence of the translation techniques on the translation quality by subtitles in the English translation "Coco" by Lee Unkrich, by PeinAkatsuki used. The data obtained is based on the dialogues contained in the movie “COCO”. The subtitles of all dialogues in the film are analyzed based on theory. This study applies a descriptive qualitative method to evaluate data with documents as data source. High and moderate degrees of translation accuracy are demonstrated by modulation and other approaches, but they also offer a high degree of readability and readability. The translation method used by the subtitles has a positive impact on the accuracy, acceptability and readability of Indonesian subtitles.
Key Words: Subtitle; translation technique; translation quality
Introduction
Language is the one of most important elements of human life. People would not be able to continue their normal and orderly lives without language. They cannot interact easily and well if they do not master each other's language and in this absence of continuity they also cannot grasp the psychological expressions or desires expressed by their communicating opponents. This also causes a barrier and less emotional connection with one another. Films or movies have a big influence on society. In everyday life, films often bring positive and negative impacts. One of the impacts is the number of scenes of youthful violence and delinquency that are often shown, so that a lot of coverage of juvenile delinquency in the mass media is caused by the imitation of the film scene being watched. The majority of people until now prefer foreign films that are clearly high- tech and find them more entertaining. In addition, foreign films that are easily accessible far outnumber local films such as films with subtitles and voice overs. The role of subtitles in this case is indeed important, not only for normal film lovers but also important for deaf friends. With subtitles, they can still find out what the film or video is about. The inability of viewers to capture messages in foreign language films has been bridged by film translation. Even though it looks trivial, the translation of a film cannot be underestimated because if the film contains important information but the meaning of the translation is inaccurate it will cause a wrong understanding. So that through this translated text, people who watch the film can understand the meaning of the utterances in the film.
Contrast analysis is one method that can be used to solve translation problems. Contrast analysis as a workflow is an activity that compares the structure of B1 (the mother tongue) with the structure of a second language (B2) to identify differences between the two languages. Comparative analysis provides an objective and scientific basis for second language teaching. Contrast analysis is generally an inductive investigative approach based on particular elements of a language (Kardaleska, 2006;29). Contrast analysis allows us to reveal the differences between mother tongue and foreign language, and allows us to pay special attention to this diversity in foreign language acquisition. In the case of translation, collation analysis is a method in which
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the translator must pay attention to the difference between a foreign language and a native language at the semantic and syntactic level, to some extent, which also involves fixing them. analysis is to predict language difficulties encountered in second language acquisition. The purpose of comparative analysis is to predict language difficulties encountered in second language acquisition.
Subtitling is one of the ways to translate the foreign film and television programs. Shuttleworth and Cowie (in Widiani, 2012:31) define subtitling as the following: “Subtitling can be defined as the process of providing synchronized captions for film and television dialogue”. This understanding focuses on the quality of the translation that must be synchronized in the dialogue in the audio-visual text. That is, a good subtitle or verbal translation of an audio-visual text must be in sync and in harmony with the dialogue or verbal signifier contained in an audio-visual text. It is an audio-visual translation or textual version of the dialogue which is not in films only, but also in television programs and it is usually displayed on the bottom of the screen. It can be in the form of a written translation of a dialog in a foreign language. or a written translation of the dialogue in the same language.
The text in the subtitle has to be shorter than the audio, because the viewers need time to read the subtitle while at the same time, he or she is unaware that they are actually reading. Therefore, Ivarsson and Carrol in Zhang & Liu (2009: 156) suggest that subtitle makers need to bear in mind some regulations when producing subtitles. They should pay attention to the position of translated text, the number of lines on the screen and number of characters per line.
More specifically, Gottlieb (in Gottlieb, 2005a: 19) formulated a technical definition of subtitles based on a semiotic approach. According to him, “subtitling is a prepared communication using written language acting as an additive and synchronous semiotic channel, as part of a transient and polysemiotic text.” There are some important points from the technical definition of subtitling, among others: (1) subtitling is an activity translation prepared in advance (prepared); (2) subtitles is an activity translation whose products are in the form of verbal written language; (3) subtitles work as an additional channel (additive) that is synchronous with other channels others which are parts of polysemiotic text containing moving images (transients). In translating films, the context of the situation and cross-cultural understanding are the main provisions that translators must have in carrying out their work so that they can choose the right translation strategy. In the translation process, adjustments need to be made in determining strategies, translation methods, and targets.
The Film “COCO” is a 2017 American computer-animated fantasy film produced by Lee Unkrich, it is directed by him and co-directed by Adrian Molina. This cartoon film contains elements of education, both moral and language teaching. The teaching of foreign languages is what makes this cartoon film have a different translation from the translation of other films. In addition, COCO offers new shows that captivate and inspire parents to support their children in learning foreign languages. Apart from the elements of language education, this film also contains other educational elements needed by preschoolers, as expressed by its creator. The message that is most felt throughout the film is how family plays a very important role in your life.
Translation techniques are decisions taken by translators in the process of translating a text. According to Molina and Albir, translation techniques have five characteristics: Translation techniques affect the translation results, translation techniques are classified by comparing the source language text with the target language, translation techniques affect the micro level of the text, translation techniques are discursive and contextual, translation techniques are functional. Regarding the quality of translation results or not, there is something that needs to be considered, namely the assessment of the quality / quality of the translation.
In assessing the quality of translation, there are several aspects that need to be reviewed, namely aspects of accuracy, acceptability, and readability. These three aspects are very important in determining whether a translation product can function properly as a communication tool. The aspect of accuracy relates to whether or not the transfer of text messages in the source language is accurate or not into the target language.
Acceptance relates to the problem of translation according to or not with the prevailing norms and culture in the target language. Meanwhile, the legibility aspect regarding the translation problem can be understood easily or not by the target reader. This aspect of the quality of the translation will be examined in this study further.
PeinAkatsuki in Indonesian subtitles of Coco movie, (2) evaluate the translation quality used by PeinAkatsuki in Indonesian subtitles of Coco movie.
Method
The research method used is qualitative descriptive. Qualitative description is research used to describe a natural phenomenon. This research is based on translation work. Descriptive qualitative research uses qualitative data in the form of sentences and is based on Ary., Jacobs and Sorensen (2010) that qualitative research focuses on understanding social phenomena from the human perspective in the natural environment.
It doesn't start with formal hypotheses, but it can give rise to hypotheses as research unfolds. Furthermore, qualitative research provides insight into this phenomenon rather than being limited to numerical data. In conducting the research, the author did not commit any kind of deception because the aim of qualitative research is to obtain data as natural as possible.
Qualitative research refers to inductive, holistic, emic, subjective, and process-oriented methods used to understand, explain, describe, and develop theories about a phenomenon or context. It is a systematic and subjective approach used to describe lived experiences and give meaning to them (Burns & Grove 2003: 356).
Qualitative research is primarily concerned with words, language, and experiences rather than measurements, statistics, and numbers. The data sources for this study were the literature and informants.
Data on translation techniques were obtained from the documentary Coco screenplay and two Indonesian translations. Indonesian subtitles translated by PeinAkatsuki at www.indoxi.bz. At the same time, data on translation quality is obtained from informants. The informant is the reviewer responsible for determining the quality level of the translation.
Results and Discussion Results
PeinAkatsuki applies 16 translation techniques in translating Indonesian subtitle of Coco movie such as literal translation, borrowing, modulation, linguistic compression, established equivalent, reduction, linguistic amplification, transposition, amplification, variation, compensation, calque, discursive creation, substitution, particularization, and adaptation
Tabel 1. Translation Techniques Used by PeinAkatsuki in Indonesian Subtitle of Coco Movie
No Translation Techniques F %
1 Literal translation 230 34.49%
2 Borrowing 168 25.11%
3 Modulation 58 8.78%
4 Linguistic compression 43 6.51%
5 Established equivalent 40 6.05%
6 Linguistic amplification 33 4.99%
7 Reduction 23 3.48%
8 Amplification 22 3.33%
9 Transposition 14 2.12%
10 Discursive creation 10 1.51%
11 Calque 9 1.06%
12 Particularization 7 1.06%
13 Compensation 4 0.61%
14 Variation 3 0.45%
15 Substitution 3 0.30%
16 Generalization 1 0.15%
Total 696 100%
The accuracy rating of PeinAkatsuki's Indonesian subtitle reveals 244 accurate translations, 165 less accurate translations, and 8 erroneous translations. According to PeinAkatsuki's assessment of the quality of the Indonesian subtitle translation, there are 232 translations that are good, 168 that are less acceptable, and 19
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that are unacceptable. There are 349 data with high readability translation and 68 data with medium readability translation, according to PeinAkatsuki's assessment of the quality of the Indonesian subtitle translation.
Tabel 2. Translation Quality by PeinAkatsuki in Indonesian Subtitle of Coco Movie
No Translation Quality F %
1 Accuracy 244 57 %
2 Acceptability 232 55%
3 Readability 349 83%
Discussion
From the table above, it can be seen that that there were 16 translation techniques used by PeinAkatsuki in translating Indonesian subtitle of Coco movie, including the following: (1) literal translation, (2) borrowing, (3) modulation, (4) linguistic compression, (5) established equivalent, (6) reduction, (7) linguistic amplification, (8) transposition, (9) amplification, (10) variation, (11) compensation, (12) calque, (13) discursive creation, (14) substitution, (15) particularization, and (16) adaptation. The three dominant translation techniques are different. Subtitling translations are more often translated using literal and linguistic compression techniques.
Because some data need to be translated using more than one technique, there are more translation procedures than there are data. As a result, the translation methods are classified as single (using one translation method), couplet (using two translation methods), triplet (using three translation methods), and quadruplet (using four translation methods).
34,49%
25,11%
8,78%
6,51%
6,05%
Translation Techniques
Literal translation Borrowing Modulation
Linguistic compression Established equivalent Linguistic amplification
Reduction Amplification Transposition
Discursive creation Calque Particularization
Compensation Variation Substitution
According to this study, readability is related to how the target audience understands the content. There are three categories of readability: (1) Unreadable; (2) Less readable; and (3) Readable. According to the results of the readability test sent to 15 respondents, there were 1,449 conversation data, for a total of 21,735 data. In this search, readable translation occurred in 19726, less readable translation occurred in 1900 data, and unreadable translation occurred in 109 data. The Indonesian subtitle of the movie “Coco” is finally considered a fairly understandable translation. Extremely easy to read, which means respondents will have little difficulty grasping and understanding subtitle content.
The accuracy rating of PeinAkatsuki's Indonesian subtitle reveals 244 accurate translations, 165 less accurate translations, and 8 erroneous translations. According to PeinAkatsuki's assessment of the quality of the Indonesian subtitle translation, there are 232 instances of acceptable translation, 167 instances of less acceptable translation, and 18 instances of terrible translation. There are 349 data with high readability translation and 68 data with medium readability translation, according to PeinAkatsuki's assessment of the quality of the Indonesian subtitle translation. The accuracy of the translation of PeinAkatsuki is greater (57%) based on the percentage of recapitulation in translation quality, which indicates that the subtitler produces high-quality translations. It can be inferred that PeinAkatsuki is able to translate a message into its equivalent in the original language. Next, PeinAkatsuki's translation has a 55% approval rating based on the acceptability of translation. It follows that the translation typically results in accurate translation. Yet, the subtitler's translations nonetheless occasionally utilize terms or grammatical constructions in the target language that the audience won't understand, which makes the translations less acceptable. Then, based on the readability of translation, PeinAkatsuki has a high level of readability, has 83%.
PeinAkatsuki uses established equivalences, transpositions, amplifications, and adjustments to include high accuracy, acceptability, and readability. Language amplification, materialization, and offset are classified as having a high degree of accuracy and readability but are less acceptable. Modulation, language compression, reduction, variation, subclassing, and substitution seem less precise and less acceptable, but they are very readable. Discourse creation was classified as less accurate, less acceptable, and average readability.
244
232 349
Translation Quality
Accuracy
Acceptability
Readability
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Conclusions
Based on the table above the source text with its correlation in the target text, it was found that there were 16 translation techniques used by PeinAkatsuki in translating Indonesian subtitle of Coco movie, including the following: (1) literal translation, (2) borrowing, (3) modulation, (4) linguistic compression, (5) established equivalent, (6) reduction, (7) linguistic amplification, (8) transposition, (9) amplification, (10) variation, (11) compensation, (12) calque, (13) discursive creation, (14) substitution, (15) particularization, and (16) adaptation. The three dominant translation techniques are different. Subtitling translations are more often translated using literal and linguistic compression techniques, while dubbing translations are more dominantly translated using borrowing and linguistic compression techniques
It is proven that film translations or subtitled undergo a reduction process in the translation process.
This conclusion is evidenced by the translation techniques in both translations are dominated by linguistic compression techniques. The translation method that is more often used.
There are three categories of readability, those are (1) Unreadable (2) Less readable (3) Readable.
From the result of the readability test which was taken by 15 respondents, there were 1449 data of the dialogues, so the total amount of the data was 21,735, with the details; readable translation occurring in this research was 19725 data, less readable translation was 1900 data and unreadable translation was 110 data.
According to the result, the Indonesian subtitles of “Coco” movie -was categorized as very readable translation.
Very readable means the respondents can easily catch and understand the meaning of the subtitles without any difficulties. The result of the relation of subtitling strategies and readability was the most readable strategy used in the Indonesian subtitles of “Coco” was decimation strategy. In contrast, the strategy with the most difficult to read subtitles is the transcription strategy.
The accuracy of the translation of PeinAkatsuki is high (57%) based on the percentage of recapitulation in translation quality, which indicates that the subtitler produces high-quality translations. It can be inferred that PeinAkatsuki is able to translate a message into its equivalent in the original language. Next, PeinAkatsuki's translation has a 55% approval rating based on the acceptability of translation. It follows that the translation typically results in accurate translation. Yet, the subtitler's translations nonetheless occasionally utilize terms or grammatical constructions in the target language that the audience won't understand, which makes the translations less acceptable. Then, based on the readability of translation, PeinAkatsuki has a high level of readability, has 83%.
For the other or future researchers, this research can be the source to follow up research in the future.
The researchers who have an idea to analyze the same topic like this research, which is a translation, can conduct a similar research with other translation quality assessment aspects such as accuracy or naturalness to develop translation studies. Other media or translation productscan also be used as data to be analyzed like short story, novel, article, song lyrics, etc. For translators or subtitlers, it is necessary to use strategies in the process of translating subtitles or other translation products to make a good translation work. A good translation will make the readers catch and understand the meaning of the translation easily. The translator or subtitler also have to pay attention in using imitation and transcription strategy because the writer found more than 1%
of the data with those strategies are unreadable
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